Known data processing devices, systems, and methods are used, among other things, for carrying out cryptographic processes or, in general, for processing security-relevant data, in particular also in the field of IT security. The systems and methods or, more precisely their hardware and software-based implementation in a target system, may be attacked by so-called side channel attacks, such as a microcontroller or the like. In the case of these side channel attacks, one or more physical parameters (e.g., power consumption, electromagnetic radiation, etc.) of a system to be attacked are detected and examined with regard to a correlation with secret data such as secret keys of cryptographic processes. An attacker is able to use that to obtain information about the secret key and/or the processed data. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2013/326232 is a publication that addresses side channel attacks.
Another category of attacks on the systems and methods involves the active introduction or injection of faults into the system while a method is carried out. These attacks are also referred to as “fault injection attacks.”